British tech workers hate jobs more than in US

Nearly six in 10 (56%) cited lack of career progression as one of the main causes of their dissatisfaction

UK tech workers are twice as likely to hate their job compared to those in the US and Australia, according to jobs board Hired.

The Dream Jobs report found that while 6% of Australian and 5% of US tech workers said they hate their job, 11% of British workers said the same.

Nearly six in 10 (56%) of those that hate their job cited a lack of career progression as the main reason. Half (53%) said they don't enjoy the company culture, 52% feel under-compensated, and 50% dislike their manager or colleagues.

UK workers were also more likely to be looking for their next position, with 41% searching for a new job compared with 30% in the US.

British workers are also more pessimistic when it comes to their future career. Only 58% of UK tech workers believe it's possible to get their dream job one day, compared with the global average of 70%. A third (34%) defined a dream job as one with good work/life balance, 37% cited a good salary, and 38% stated interesting work.

However, 35% of respondents from the UK claimed they already have their dream job, with Millennials the most likely generation to feel this way (at 47%). Men were slightly more likely than women to have already landed their dream job (46% compared with 41%).

Mehul Patel, CEO of Hired, said he expects job satisfaction in Britain to improve. "As the UK technology market continues to mature, and greater innovation takes place, we expect job satisfaction to grow as workers become more fulfilled with their day-to-day work," he said. "As further home-grown tech success stories, such as Deliveroo, DeepMind, TransferWise and Shazam, continue to arise in the UK we would expect the belief that tech workers can realise their dream jobs will grow too.

“The Dream Jobs report findings highlight that the ingredients of a well-loved job are fairly distributed, but the importance of work/life balance and salary are slightly edged out by the desire to be challenged and interested by the work itself. Collectively as an industry – from entrepreneurs and government to industry groups and big business – we must work together to build a culture that inspires each individual and demonstrate an understanding of their motivation, whether that is salary or feeling challenged by disruptive work."